Tuesday, 28 June 2011

Good Corp, Bad Corp: Corporate Social Responsibility and the Breaking of Society

Public Evening Lecture by Joel Bakan

“Good cop, bad cop” is an interrogation tactic in which two police officers, one hostile and abusive, the other friendly and supportive, take turns questioning a suspect. The suspect’s resistance is eventually broken, and he or she confesses to the crime, believing and trusting in the good cop’s promise of safety and protection. Like the good cop, “good” corporations position themselves as caring about society, while implying their competitors, or their former selves, are uncaring “bad” corporations. We, as a society, like the suspect, want to believe them, and eventually we do, releasing all corporations from regulatory constraints under a misguided faith they will treat us well.